A Way Out of the Darkness
by BaronessBlixen
Summary: So what if it had been Graham in Pan's other cage? And what if Pan had wanted Emma to choose between him and Neal? Basically a VERY AU re-write of 03x06.
1. A Way Out of the Darkness

**A/N**: Before we knew who was in the second cage, I wondered 'why not Graham?'. That plot twist seemed to resonate on tumblr and then the other day I got this strange idea - and I just had to write it. Reviews and comments are very welcome.

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"He's no longer in the Echo Caves," Pan's voice rushed through the trees before he hovered above the search party. They all stopped immediately, weapons drawn, but he was too high up there. Emma's anger rose as it always did. It was a hot flame inside of her and made any compassion disappear. The lost boys were one thing, but this demon was no kid in her eyes.

"I have a game for the savior," Pan went on. Emma felt all their eyes land on her. She didn't care. She would play his shady games as long as he led her to Henry. But this was about Neal. If Emma was honest with herself, she didn't want to find him. She didn't want all that drama back in her life. She wasn't ready to deal with her feelings for him – again. But he knew Pan, he knew this island. And more than that he was Henry's father. She owed it to her son to at least try and save his father.

"I need you to follow me." Somewhere behind her she felt her own father as well as Hook come closer; desperate to protect her. Sometimes it felt strange to have so many people care for her. Because she still remembered a time when no one did. At least it had prepared her for this; fighting alone, fighting for herself and her son. She turned to her family – and Hook. They were ready to fight whatever Pan threw at them.

"We won't let you go alone." David said.

"She's been alone her whole life, she doesn't need you." Pan grinned. Emma sensed that David was about to do something stupid. Quickly she held up a hand to stop him.

"I can do this. Just- it won't take long. If he wants to play his games, let him."

"Emma…"

"No, it's fine. Really." She tried to give them a reassuring smile. She was still learning how to do that. Finally David put the sword away and gave her a reluctant nod. Even Hook relaxed somewhat. She was aware of the looks the pirate was constantly throwing at her. She felt sorry for giving him hope where there was none. That kiss had been a huge mistake. But now was not the time to dwell on it. She would set the record straight once she had Henry back.

"Be careful." Emma heard Mary Margaret whisper before she followed Pan.

Once the others were out of sight and earshot, the boy finally turned to her. How she wished to wipe that smug grin off his face! He lowered himself to the ground and fell into step beside her.

"So, Emma, are you ready for a little fun game?"

"Stop the crap. Where are we going and where is Neal?"

"Oh, don't worry you'll see him. I have another gift for you," suddenly he stopped walking and it was only then that Emma saw why; there was a huge cave in front of them. It seemed to have just appeared out of the darkness. She looked at it for a moment, but she knew she had to go in there anyway.

"What gift?" She asked as she carefully followed him inside. For a moment they were surrounded by pitch-black darkness that made Emma feel as if she were losing herself. Then the light re-appeared slowly, gradually. She blinked a few times and then suddenly she saw them. Two big wooden cages up there in the air. Below them was a huge gaping hole - which led into dark nothingness. Emma stared up at the cages. She didn't know which of them held Neal. And whoever was in the other cage. That was probably Pan's gift to her, she thought with disgust.

"Look up there. Hey guys! Look who I brought you!" The cages began to swing gently as the captives moved inside. Emma still couldn't tell who was in there. Somehow she just knew that it wasn't Henry. Pan wasn't done playing with her yet. Then some of the wooden bars began to flicker. Emma took another step forward and there he was. She saw Neal in the left cage. Her heart beat furiously. A part of her had hoped all of this was just a shady scam to separate her from the other. She hadn't dared hoped it could be true. To distract herself for a moment she looked into the other cage and gasped. It couldn't be. It couldn't be possible.

"Graham?" She whispered. Pan, standing next to her, chuckled. Emma couldn't take her eyes off the former sheriff. She had seen him die. She had tried to get his mute heart beating again. He had been dead. She knew that for a fact. This had to be a trick. It couldn't be Graham. None of this was real. She'd seen both these men die.

"It's really him. I have… well, let's just say I have powerful friends and connections." Pan told her as if reading her mind.

"No, he's dead." Emma looked at him, tried to make sense of this. He didn't speak. Neal didn't either. It was as if they'd lost their voice. But Emma was more concerned with Graham's eyes anyway. She remembered them. The haunted look she'd seen the day he died. It was there. His eyes weren't empty. This was him. She had no idea how this was possible. Her heart couldn't keep up with what was happening.

"He's not dead and neither is Neal. But that may change." When Pan uttered the words, Emma turned to him. The game, of course. These two men were part of the sick game he wanted to play with her.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Oh, it's rather easy. All you have to do is choose."

"Choose?"

"Yes. You choose who lives and who dies."

"I'm not going to make that decision." Emma felt strangely calm. She didn't believe him. Not really. He wouldn't make her choose one man's death. This is a game, she reminded herself. No one would die. She said these words like a mantra in her head and for once she wished she wasn't alone.

"You will. Because if you don't, they'll both die. Do you want to talk to them?" Pan grinned. He made a strange movement with his hand. A clicking noise could be heard and someone whispered 'Emma'. She turned her head towards the cages again.

"It's ok, Emma. Choose me. To let me go." Graham's voice was like an arrow right into her heart. She hadn't heard his voice in so long. She had missed it so much. His shoelace around her wrist itched suddenly. All she thought she had left of him. But there he was unchanged and so alive. She had so many questions for him. And for Pan. She knew she wouldn't get any answers. Maybe never and it frustrated her to no end. She had to figure out a way to save them both. Her time was running out and she couldn't stop staring at the man she'd believed dead for so long.

"So you want to save Graham? You can't seem to take his eyes off him." Pan was circling her, grinning. Emma wished she could just punch him, make him disappear. Instead she tore her eyes away from Graham and looked at Neal. He was looking back at her, but he refused to talk. She wondered if he just didn't dare ask save him. If he thought this was some kind of revenge for him sending her to jail, then he didn't know her at all. She remembered telling him that she loved him. Right before he fell through that portal. Right before he _died_. A part of her had wished it was true, because had he died, then all of the heartache would have died with him.

"There must be another way." Emma told Pan. Her fingers itched to get out her sword and slay him. At least threaten him.

"There isn't. It's your choice. Pick your man – and do it fast, this is beginning to bore me."

"It's all right, Emma," Graham told her again. He even attempted to smile. Emma remembered the last time she'd seen him smile. Right before… right before he died. She still couldn't fathom the fact that he was still alive. After his death she had read his story in Henry's book. Her son had told her the significance of the huntsman, but she had felt the need to read it herself. Without him, she wouldn't be here. At first he had saved her mother's life. Then her father's and hers. She owed him so much – and not just her life. He had proved to her that there were people out there she could trust. He had left before she could tell him that, because back then she'd thought she had all the time in the world.

"Just tell him you choose Neal."

"No." Neal replied almost immediately. He, too, didn't want to be responsible for another man's death. Out of the corner of her eye Emma saw Pan grinning happily. This was exactly what he wanted.

"Your son is out there. And I know what a great kid Henry is," Graham quickly looked at Emma, then back at Neal. "I'm supposed to be dead anyway." His smile was bitter, it was devastating.

"I made my decision." Emma then told Pan. All eyes landed on her. She only looked at the boy who refused to grow up and who thought playing with other people's feelings was fun.

"Tell me."

"I choose Henry." She said silently.

"What?" Pan almost spit at her.

"I choose Henry." Emma repeated calmly. She glanced at the two men up there who were trying to listen to what was said down there.

"I'm afraid you have to pick one of them, _savior_."

"I did," she told Pan," I choose Henry, so I have to pick Neal. Because he's his father. No matter what has happened between Neal and me, he'll always be that. I'll always choose Henry and what's best for him. That's Neal. I can't… I hate losing Graham again and I can't believe you're doing this to someone so brave, but… I have to choose Neal." Emma let the tears flow. She had tried to be strong, to not let Pan get to her. But she had just sentenced the man who had saved her family time and again to his death. Whenever it came to him she seemed to be one step too slow. She might be a savior, but she could never save him.

"You'd pick your son's happiness over your own?"

"Always."

"No one ever does that. Everyone chooses their happiness, their love. Do you think your parents would choose _you_ and not their love? They wouldn't," Emma tried to ignore the uncertain feeling she felt upon hearing Pan's words. The relationship between Emma and her parents was still on such shaky ground. But she knew they loved her. They'd put all their trust – their lives – into her tiny, newborn hands.

"No one chooses their children." As soon as the words left Pan's mouth, the ground beneath them began to shake violently. Emma searched for something to hold on to, but there was only the slippery wall and her legs gave in under her. The cages dangled dangerously and there was no sign of Pan anyway. Emma tried to get back on her feet, to get to the cages and save Neal and Graham. Both pounded against the enchanted wooden bars without any luck. Then they came crashing down. Emma felt herself scream, but the sound didn't resonate. A great explosion reached her ears and turned her deaf for a moment. The dim light in the cave disappeared and she was left in total darkness. She would have thought she'd died, but then she heard a whisper in the dark so hopeful and so familiar,

"_Emma_?"

_**TBC**_


	2. A Ray of Light

**A/N: **I am truly sorry for the long delay! But the update works rather well with today's date, so… I also want to thank each and every person who reviewed, followed, favorite or simply read the story. Sorry this chapter is rather short, but I really wanted to get this chapter out of the way. A review would be lovely :)

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Emma was back in the sheriff station; her head was pounding painfully from the blow she'd received then from Regina's hand. It was pounding now, too, because she'd hit it somewhere. But the scene was a memory: his body fell to the ground with hardly a warning. Her knees gave in, followed him down, but she wasn't dead. While his heart had stopped beating, hers went on rapidly. It wouldn't stop. It beat against her chest torturously; reminding her that she was alive. And he was not. She saw it again before her eyes like a movie she hated. All she had to do this time was open her eyes to escape this.

"_Emma?_"

The voice seemed to be pleading with her. The warmth in it reminded her of something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Emma knew she recognized that voice. She'd heard it before, but who was it? Her eyes opened slowly as if held together by glue. Even the dim light seemed too bright. Emma's head was still pounding when she tried to get a clear view of the person sitting next to her, holding her hand.

"Emma!" No question this time. And that voice… that voice filled her with a hope she hadn't felt in a long time. At first she was certain she was dreaming – or unconscious. She hadn't seen Graham's face in so long that it seemed so surreal. Her hand reached out carefully. His face felt warm, it felt right. But how could she be sure? Tears trickled down Emma's cheek and reminded her that this was happening. Looking more closely at him, she could see that he had changed. If this really was him. A part of her still couldn't believe it. Ever the skeptic, she didn't trust Pan's antics. For all she knew this could be him in disguise. Fooling people was a game for him. But those eyes… all the heartache she'd felt when Graham died came rushing back as she looked into them. They were an endless pool of unspoken words and emotions. Her heart told her this had to be him, because even someone like Peter Pan could never convey this.

"Graham…" Emma hadn't said the name in a long time and it felt foreign on her tongue. She had deliberately refrained from saying it; from even thinking it. Because accepting his death had been the hardest thing she'd ever had to do. If only she had believed Henry earlier. Maybe she could have saved him. Clinging to all kinds of what-if's didn't help her. And there he was anyway. There was Graham and against all reason and logic he was still alive. All this time when she'd sat in the sheriff's station where everything was him and nothing belonged to her, he had been out there – _here_ – and she had gone on without him.

"Hi." He said with a shy smile.

"How is this…" Emma didn't finish the sentence. There was no way he could have survived. His heart had stopped beating, because she had checked. Several times. She hadn't been able to accept it for so long. There had been days after his death where she'd expected him to walk back in. Laugh at her and tell her it had all been some kind of strange joke. Then reality had taken precedence and Emma had let go. She had concentrated on Henry and on making him understand that this hadn't been his fault. Just as her son had lost a shred of his endless capacity of hope, she had lost the little gleam of light she'd felt upon meeting Graham. But as always she had moved on. Neal had come back into her life and-

"Neal!" She turned away from Graham and half-crawling and half-walking she searched for her son's father. The explosion had not only bought down the cages, it had closed up the gaping hole that had threatened to swallow the two men. If Graham was alive then Neal had to be, too.

"He's got to be here somewhere." Graham, unfazed by everything, was next to her suddenly.

"I'm fine." Neal's voice assured them. Emma's head beat furiously and the accompanying nausea made it hard to locate his whereabouts. Graham quickly changed directions and so she simply followed him. Her vision was compromised and walking blindly, she didn't see Graham stop. Emma crashed into his solid body and gasped. Immediately she took a step back, but her hands wouldn't listen. They landed on his back where he was warm and slightly sweaty. Suddenly this wasn't enough; Emma wanted to feel something else. Before everything had happened he'd told her that his heart was missing. That he didn't have one. The truth had hit her square in the face – and her own heart – when she'd accepted the truth about the curse. He had been right back then. But what about now? In a quick movement her hand went around him and landed on his chest. Graham was still, almost rigid. Emma's fingers detected the steady beat of a heart and she was taken right back to that day. The day he died.

"Are you all right?" This wasn't Graham's voice. Neal slowly got up and dusted off his pants. He was a lot closer to Emma than she had thought. Two pairs of eyes were on her and they showed nothing but concern for her. Emma simply nodded and hoped Neal – and Graham – saw it the dim light.

"So you're Graham." Neal said and Emma heard rather than saw her ex grin. The two men shook hands as if this was a normal encounter on a street somewhere. For a moment Emma was convinced all of this was just happening in her head. Maybe she had hit her head pretty hard after all. To reassure herself she tried to touch Graham secretly. But she must have been rather bold with her still shaky and uncoordinated movements, because he flinched. A moment later she felt his big hand wrap around hers. Neal's eyes followed the movement, but no words were spoken. There would be time for explanations later.

"And you're… Neal."

"Or Baelfire. I'm Henry's father. " Emma watched as Graham seemed to search for a memory of that name. Neal had left the Enchanted Forest long before Graham had appeared there. Emma didn't allow herself to think about the boy that used to be Baelfire and all the implications.

"I'm… I used to be… " Graham tried to explain who he was and how he fit into this strange picture. Emma squeezed his hand to let him know that she understood his dilemma. And before he explained anything to Neal, she wanted to find out everything that had happened since he'd left her.

"We can catch up later," Neal told him with one of his trademark smiles that used to make Emma weak in the knees. For once she was glad to have him and his smooth social skills around her, "let's go find the others and then we're going to kick Pan's ass." He walked past them, which gave them a moment to themselves. Graham turned to her. For all the things she didn't understand, there were at least as many he didn't know about either.

"Graham, I just… how is this possible?" Emma's heart and head were beating simultaneously. One hurt as bad as the other.

"I don't know," he whispered and looked away, "One moment I'm with you – kissing you – and then… nothing. I woke up here. Pan never told me much. He kept telling me how important I was. That's why he gave me back my heart. Did he- did he hurt you?"

"He kidnapped Henry," Graham nodded knowingly, "He wants his heart. Graham, I'm so sorry I chose Henry over you, but I-" he stopped her by putting a finger on her lips.

"Of course you chose Henry. And now I'll help you find him." His unyielding optimism was the same that her parents constantly tried to implant in her. She had yelled at them, blamed them for their ridiculous optimism that caused them all so much pain already. Back on Hook's ship she had almost uttered Graham's name. One of the many they'd lost.

"Graham, wait… do you remember?" He stared at her unsure of what she was asking him. But when they'd last seen each other Emma hadn't been a believer. She hadn't been the savior yet.

"Do you remember… everything? The curse and my, you know, parents."

"Your parents?"

"Snow White and Prince Charming." Had Emma had any time to breathe between crises, she would have practiced saying their names in front of a mirror. She had accepted her strange family tree, but referring to them by their fairytale names was still strange.

"Snow White is your mother." His eyes, usually the color of the trees and the grass in the forest, transformed into a haunted shade of green that looked like the ocean on a stormy day. It only lasted a moment, then his face softened and a small smile played around his lips.

"You do kind of… look like her."

"Yeah, well. I think we'd better get going before Pan comes back."

"If he wants to find us, he will."

"I'd rather find him first," Emma said. The anger spread and with it the headache. The pain was unbearable for a second, but she didn't have time to dwell on it. Not while Pan still held Henry captive. Despite everything, there was a new hope in Emma. They had a new, albeit unlikely ally now.

"As soon as we have Henry back, I'll find out what happened. How you…"

"How I survived." Emma nodded. She owed it to him to find out what had happened. He was always saving her and her family. Everyone, from Regina to Pan, used him as some kind of pawn in their games. No more. She grabbed his hand and swore to herself to never let go of him ever again – no matter what obstacles were thrown at them.

_**TBC**_

_Next chapter: Graham and Regina don't know how to interact with each other and a sick Pan shares a secret with Emma that might change everything. _


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